County officials met today behind closed doors to discuss whether the county commission should pay the fees. No decision was made, but the commissioners may not have a choice.

A 1987 "employee indemnification resolution" requires the county to pay legal fees for employees in their capacity as a county worker as long as the actions were not adverse.

While legal fees for lawyers could be paid by the county, it's unclear who would be responsible for the sanctions -- the three attorneys or the county.

The cost of the sanctions could be steep.

The judge hasn't said how much money he'll order the county or each of the three attorneys to pay, but it could total nearly $750,000, AL.com reported this month.

Smith said the county and the three attorney's actions to not disclose evidence more than seven years ago was "egregious" and ended up costing the court and the plaintiff's attorney's time and money.

Smith ruled in 2008 to impose monetary sanctions in the case so plaintiffs could recover costs associated with the failure to provide the information. At the request of the judge, Rowan Wilson, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, submitted a cost estimate of $748,209.

Efforts to reach Strickland and Wagner for comment were unsuccessful. Lawson on Thursday declined to comment.

Strickland is represented by Julian Butler, a lawyer with Sirote Permutt, based in Huntsville; Wagner by Ray Fitzpatrick, a Birmingham based lawyer and Lawson by Augusta Dowd of Birmingham-based White Arnold and Dowd.